Who Wants it?

April 28, 2019

Is there a single Gooner who is confident of a victory this lunchtime?

Given the circumstances would you take a point?

Do you want MU or Chavs to win this afternoon?

Do ants sleep?

It was inevitable that Rodgers would rejuvenate Leicester, they have some fine players who just needed a new leader. And sadly, players today can get rid of an unpopular manager. Claude Puel’s win % of 34% was never going to be enough for the team which performed miracles just 2 and a bit years ago.

Unknown.jpeg

Brendon Wagner chose to leave a cushy job at Celtic to improve LCFC – I could have improved them, so could you. They have excellent players; Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi Schmeichel and Tielemans  could all get into the AFC first team. Chilwell and Ndidi are both young enough to be summer transfer targets for Mr Emery.

Had we beaten either CP or Wolves, we could rest players ahead of the Valencia semi-final, instead this becomes a very important match. Does Mr. Emery dare use Elneny, Douzi etc again? A difficult decision but this is why he earns the Big Bucks.

The injury to Ramsey and the loss of form of Mhki has been costly. As is the worrying condition of Ozil. Ozil is one of our most experienced players – he has won everything, yet he appears incapable of raising his game for an away fixture. I love the chap but at present he seems to be a very expensive luxury. If our creative players do not give chances to our strikers nor assist in a defensive role, then I would prefer to see a midfield with Xhaka, Douzi, Terrier, Kolasinac and Iwobi, as a point today could be vital.

We must hope PEA has recovered from his nose job, if only to be on the bench.

Spurs loss, MU’s dreadful form, the Chavs inability to put a run together, means that despite our poor recent PL results we remain in with a chance of Top 4. It is worth fighting for, so please lads, whoever pulls on the shirt, remember that you carry the hopes of millions of Gooners. Another lackadaisical performance will not be acceptable.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Arsenal’s Century Club – Frank Stapleton

April 27, 2019

Nineteen players have achieved the feat of scoring 100 goals for the Club over the past 96 years. The players are sorted by the number of games taken to reach the 100 goal mark. Frank Stapleton sits at number 15.

Francis Anthony “Frank” Stapleton was born 10 July 1956 in Dublin.

Arsenal’s Irish boys

Frank was a tough tackling forward who was an especially good header of the ball. He started his career with Arsenal, joining them in 1972 as an apprentice, after being turned down by Manchester United. He made his first-team debut in 1975 against Stoke City, and went on to form a potent striking partnership with Malcolm Macdonald; the two scored 46 goals between them in 1976–77.

He was Arsenal’s top scorer for the three following seasons, and helped the Gunners reach a trio of FA Cup finals; Stapleton scored one of the goals in Arsenal’s 1979 FA Cup Final 3–2 win over Manchester United, and scored 108 goals in 300 appearances in total for the Gunners. His 100th goal was scored in an away game against Nottingham Forest on Feb 21st 1981.

Stapleton went on to move to Manchester United in 1981 for £900,000 (a fee set by tribunal after the two clubs could not agree). He helped United win the 1983 and 1985 FA Cups. It was in the first of those finals, when he scored against Brighton, in which Stapleton made history by becoming the first man to score for two different clubs in FA Cup Finals.  He left United in 1987, after scoring 78 goals for the club in 365 matches.

He went on to play for Ajax Amsterdam, before returning to England with Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Aldershot, Huddersfield Town (as player-coach) and Bradford City, where he spent three seasons after a brief period at Le Havre in France. After being sacked as Bradford’s player-manager in 1994, he had a brief spell at Brighton & Hove Albion in the 1994–95 season, playing two games before finally announcing his retirement as a player.

In 1966 Frank moved to the United States to manage Major League Soccer side New England Revolution.

His team was one of only two which did not reach the play offs in Major League Soccer’s inaugural, season he endured a season long battle with the club’s star player and a running feud with some of its more vocal supporters. In the end, however, it was what he perceived as a “vicious” media campaign and the effect it was having on his family that led Frank Stapleton to tender his resignation as coach of the New England Revolution last week.

“I just don’t need any more pressure put on my family,” said Stapleton. “I’m trained to deal with this stuff, but just because you’re married to a footballer doesn’t mean she (wife Chris) can cope with it. Your kids and your family are not immune. I tried to keep them away from it as much as possible, but. In a 17 year professional career at Arsenal, Manchester United, and Ajax, he thought he had endured the best the English tabloid press could dish out, but, he said on a personal level, this was even worse. I don’t expect not to be criticised, but this became an ongoing situation. It was as if there was a rivalry between the Boston papers to see who could be the most vicious.”

GunnerN5

p.s. Unfortunately Frank tarnished his legacy somewhat with his move to Man United –  much in the same way that the dog-fancier has done more recently. Here’s a photo of the younger Vines Brother with Frank at the Old Cowshed taken 10 years ago. Frank still earns his 30 pieces of silver as a United legend on matchdays (as far as I know).

Ant and a nervous-looking Frank

Apparently, Frank was very willing to have his photo taken but got a little jittery when Ant revealed he was an Arsenal supporter and was insistent on knowing why Frank had left the Club. 🙂

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Posted by Bongo

Arsenal FC – Our away record against Leicester

April 26, 2019

Formed in 1884 by a group of old boys of Wyggeston School as “Leicester Fosse”, the club joined The Football Association  in 1890. Before moving to Filbert Street in 1891, the club played at five different grounds, including Victoria Park south-east of the city centre and the Belgrave Road Cycle and Cricket Ground. In 1919, when League football resumed after World War I, Leicester Fosse ceased trading due to financial difficulties of which little is known. The club was reformed as “Leicester City Football Club”, particularly appropriate as the borough of Leicester had recently been given city status.

Courtesy of John Hutchinson

On 21st April 1930 Leicester drew 6-6 with Arsenal in the highest scoring draw ever recorded in the top flight. The following is an extract from a book by Paul Donnelley entitled ‘Firsts, Lasts & Onlys of Football: Presenting the most amazing football facts from the last 160 years’

Leicester City V Arsenal
At City Stadium, Filbert Street, Leicester, Easter Monday 21st April 1930

The highest-scoring draw in English football history at that time was a feast of goals watched by 27,241 fans towards the end of the 1929-1930 season and five days before the FA Cup Final (which Arsenal won). In a tactic that would be recognised today, Arsenal rested some players before the Final.

After just two minutes David Jack had the ball in the net, only for the referee to disallow his effort for offside. Arsenal scored first through David Halliday (in his only season in the Arsenal first team), but by half time Leicester were leading 3-1.

By the 62nd minute Arsenal were 5-3 to the good. With around 11 minutes left on the clock, Arsenal were leading 6-5 – all goals coming from Halliday (four) and Bastin (two) – and then Leicester equalised. Arsenal had two more chances in the final minutes, but could not convert them.

Despite his four goals, Halliday did not play in either the FA Cup Final or Arsenal’s last two League games and left the Club soon after.

Leicester City FC moved away from Filbert Street in 2002 to a new 32,500 all-seater stadium. The stadium was originally named The Walkers Stadium in a deal with food manufacturers Walkers. On 7 July 2011, Leicester City confirmed the Walkers Stadium would now be known as the King Power Stadium. In 2015 their vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha stated plans were in place to increase the capacity of the stadium to around 42,000.

The club’s home colours of royal blue shirts, white shorts, and either white or royal blue socks have been used for the team’s kits throughout most of its history. The first sponsorship logo to appear on a Leicester shirt was that of Ind Coope in 1983. British snack food manufacturer Walkers Crisps held a long association with the club, sponsoring them from 1987 to 2001.

The club have three main nicknames – The Foxes, The Blues and City. “The Foxes” is the most common nickname for the club, whereas “The Blues” and “City” are more local terms, usually used by supporters. Other names include “The Filberts” and “The Fossils”. An image of a fox was first incorporated into the club crest in 1948, as Leicestershire is known for foxes and fox hunting – this is the origin of the nickname “The Foxes”.

A previous version of the Leicester City FC crest with the more obvious fox-hunting symbolism

The club mascot is a character called “Filbert Fox”. There are also secondary characters “Vickie Vixen” and “Cousin Dennis.” Since 1992, the club’s badge has featured a fox’s head overlaid onto a Cinquefoil; the Cinquefoil is similar to the one used on the coat of arms of Leicester. Prior to 1992, the club’s badge had a range of designs. In the 2009–10 season, the club’s 125th anniversary year, the home kit featured no sponsor and a new central crest with “125 Years” written beneath it.

Leicester won the 2015–16 Premier League, their first top-level football championship. They are one of only six clubs to have won the Premier League since its inception in 1992. A number of newspapers described Leicester’s title win as the greatest sporting shock ever, considering at the start of the season they were favourites to face relegation. Multiple bookmakers had never paid out at such long odds for any sport. As a result, the team was dubbed “The Unbelievables”, a spin-off harking back to Arsenal’s undefeated team “The Invincibles”. The club’s previous highest ever finish was second place in the top flight, in 1928–29, then known as Division One.

The club hold the dubious record of having been defeated in the FA Cup Final on four occasions – in 1948–49, 1960–61, 1962–63 and 1968–69. This is a tournament record for the most defeats in the final without having won the competition.

Our away record –

 

Walcott slides the ball past Schmeichel in the 5-2 demolition of September 2015 during their title-winning season

Our away record against Leicester in the EPL has been favourable only losing twice in twelve visits, one of which was our last visit in May 9th, 2018 when we lost 3-1.

GunnerN5

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Posted by Bongo

Wolves Arsenal – Player Ratings

April 25, 2019

Four at the back with Mustafi and Kolasinac moving to the bench. Our strongest double pivot and wing attackers who will be required to add to the midfield too. Mesut sat in behind Laca. Sounds a promising line up from Senor Emery.

First Half

We had three times the amount of possession and passes of Wolves but they scored the three goals.

Second Half

We had a couple of decent chances before Papa scored a close range header from a corner. The 4th goal from 4 efforts on target in the whole game.

AP

Conclusion

More garbage. Palace gave us a clue what to expect.

I blame Venga for instilling a culture of possession for its own sake. (This is meant to be irony)

Heaven knows how we can turn this around for the Europa semi?

Maybe beat Leicester on Sunday?

Ratings

Can’t be arsed – 5 for everyone including subs and manager?

OK, maybe too generous – all 4s or all 3s?

What do you think?

Maybe a 1 for the manager who has singularly failed to improve both the defence and our away form from last season.

p.s. an extra point or two for Nketiah who at least looked like he had some spark when he came on for the last twenty.

Ref

Stuart Attwell – can’t even blame that knobhead for this one.

chas

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Posted by Bongo

Arsenal FC – Our away record against Wolves

April 23, 2019

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club was founded in 1877 as St Luke’s F.C. by John Baynton and John Brodie, two pupils of St Luke’s Church School in Blakenhall, who had been presented with a football by their headmaster Harry Barcroft. The team played its first-ever game on 13 January 1877 against a reserve side from Stafford Road, later merging with the football section of a local cricket club called Blakenhall Wanderers to form Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 1879.

Having initially played on two different strips of land in the town, they relocated to a more substantial venue on Dudley Road in 1881, before lifting their first trophy in 1884 when they won the Wrekin Cup, during a season in which they played their first-ever FA Cup tie. Having become professional, the club were nominated to become one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888, in which they played the first Football League match ever staged (against Aston Villa).

Molineux – Proper old football ground

They ended the inaugural season in third place, as well as reaching their first FA Cup Final, losing 0–3 to the first “Double” winners, Preston North End. At the conclusion of the campaign the club relocated for a final time when they moved to Molineux, then a pleasure park known as the Molineux Grounds. They have played at Molineux Stadium, capacity 32,050, since 1889.

In 1953, Wolves was one of the first British clubs to install floodlights, taking part in televised “floodlit friendlies” against leading overseas club sides between 1953 and 1956 before the creation of the European Cup in 1955. Wolves’ traditional kit consists of gold shirts and black shorts and the club badge one or more wolves. Wolves have long-standing rivalries with other West Midlands clubs, the main one being with West Bromwich Albion, against whom they contest the Black Country derby.

Major Frank Buckley

With Major Frank Buckley (1927-1944) at the helm the team became established as one of the leading club sides in England in the years leading up to the Second World War, as they finished runners-up in the league twice in succession (1937–38 & 1938–39), as well as reaching the last pre-war FA Cup Final, in which they suffered a shock defeat to Portsmouth. In 1937–38 Wolves came within a whisker of winning the club’s first English league title: a win in the side’s last game away to Sunderland would have clinched things, but in the event Wolves lost 0–1 and thus ended the campaign one point behind the eventual champions, Arsenal.

One of the things Major Buckley and his Wolves side attracted a lot of attention for in the last two full seasons prior to the outbreak of the Second World War was Buckley’s insistence that his players be injected with monkey gland extract to enhance their stamina and performance, a practice that the Football League elected not to sanction.

Still couldn’t beat Arsenal to the Title in 1937/8

Club Honours

Football League First Division:

  • Champions (3): 1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59

EFL Championship/Football League Second Division (1892–1992)

  • Champions (4): 1931–32, 1976–77, 2008–09, 2017–18

EFL League One/Football League Third Division (Tier 3)

  • Champions (3): 1923–24 (North), 1988–89, 2013–14

Football League Fourth Division (Tier 4)

  • Champions (1): 1987–88

FA Cup

.   Winners (4): 1892–93, 1907–08, 1948–49, 1959–60

Football League Cup

.   Winners (2): 1973–74, 1979–80

FA Charity Shield

.    Winners (4): 1949*, 1954*, 1959, 1960* (* joint holders)

Jack Kelsey gets the ball before Roy Swinbourne – Molineux 1955

Chamakh opens the scoring in the first minute – 10th November 2010 – Associated Press

In the Premier League we have a perfect away record against Wolves; however since the arrival of their current manager, Nuno Espírito Santo in May 2017, they are a very different proposition and I expect that it will be a difficult game.

GunnerN5

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Posted by Bongo

Arsenal 2 Palace 3 – Player Ratings

April 22, 2019

It seemed a strange team selection which smacked of gross underestimation of the opposition. Jenkinson, Elneny and Guendouzi in tandem through the centre  plus twin strikers for a must win game at home. Hmmmm.

On the positive side, pre-match drinks with the boys and Peaches were excellent listening to updates from Goodison, just a shame they proved to be the high point of a day that slipped thereafter.

First Half

Mesut should have scored early on but for someone whose passing is so good, his shooting is abysmal.

Palace scored from a free kick which looked miles offside in the ground but probably wasn’t. (just looked at the goal and Jenko played Benteke onside – as you all would have known already)

The team seemed unbalanced and toothless, changes were required.

Second Half

Team selection mistakes were half rectified at the interval. Iwobi for Jenks excellent. Taking Mavropanos off when he had been one of our best players in the first half seemed weird. I suppose hindsight is a wonderful thing – if only one of our other centre backs had got the hook!

Superb start with Mesut scoring straight away.Iwobi on the left and Ainsley on the right were suddenly causing Palace problems on the flanks. It was surely only a matter of time before we scored a second.

Then things took a plunge. Mustafi gave the freedom of Islington to the Palace striker, Zaha and then seemed aggrieved at what? – Who knows? 2-1 down to a poor team but with lots of time to rectify the situation.

Getty Images

More shocking defending from a corner and we were 3-1 with little hope of a positive result all of a sudden. Auba played a one two off a defender and gave us some false hope. Alex Iwobi fluffed a great chance at an equaliser from a cut back but virtually passed to the keeper.

Conclusion

Bang goes fortress Emirates. A combination of poor team selection, dreadful defending and the lack of any real plan up front contributed to our own downfall.

Such a great opportunity to strengthen our claim for a top four place squandered. We’re still in 4th spot – well, until the chavs play Burnley tonight, that is.

Wolves at Molineux next up.

Ratings

Leno – kept us in with a shout with a great save just before half time … 6

Jenkinson – not much to say … 3

Mavropanos – no idea why he was subbed off – yellow card? … 6

Koscielny – struggled to make up for the deficiencies of those around him … 6

Mustafi – some around me in the ground were booing him touching the ball in the second half – inexplicable defending at times – thick as pig excrement unfortunately – the nadir of his performance was getting booked for diving … 1

Kolasinac – drove me bananas in the first half just passing the ball back from where it came – we could have kept Theo Walcott if we needed someone who could only do that … 3

Elneny – nah … 3

Guendouzi – yet again given too much to do with the lack of decent senior partner … 5

Ozil – a game tailor-made for him to dominate and he wasn’t up to it – a fine goal though… 5

Aubameyang – out of position and it showed … 5

Lacazette – huffed a puffed with little service … 5

Subs

Iwobi – had an immediate impact – should have been playing from the start … 6

Maitland-Niles – added much on the right flank but just couldn’t make that crucial difference at the end of the day … 6

Torreira – another who should have started if he was fit enough to be on the bench … 6

Managers

Emery – bound to have an off day every now and again – just a shame I had to witness it in person … 3

Wagnerson – must be so pleased we put up such a poor fight … 6

Referee

Moss – as dreadful a performance as Arsenal’s – just appalling … 2

chas

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Posted by Bongo

Palace at home – In Brief

April 21, 2019

A must win game especially with the spuds just losing the hardest of their remaining five fixtures. It’s given us the chance to go two points ahead if we can win and give them some cause for concern, while also giving us extra hope of seeing out these tricky aways we face on Wednesday and Sunday. After such a fine performance against Napoli, the lads should be feeling full of confidence – let’s forget the Watford match!

Laca wonders where the intimidating atmosphere of the San Paolo stadium has gone

Team news

Big Sok is serving the second game of his 2 match ban for being Greek. So, let’s put our hands together for squad player Shkodran. Three or four at the back? Three plus wingbacks would seem the best chance of providing the width necessary to get round the bus.

Granit is being assessed but maybe might not be risked if Matteo and the Terrier are both ready to go. So the midfield is sorted, with Guendouzi playing more in a deep Ramsey role with licence to roam forward a little, allowing the Terrier to excel at what he’s best at.     (Update: it would appear from Jeorge Bird on twitter that both Granit and the Terrier were in full training yesterday 🙂 )

Rambo is definitely out for an unspecified period. Home against Palace is, perhaps, the perfect scenario for Mesut, so he’ll probably start. Back at home we need the variety that the left and right side wing forwards Iwobi and Mkhitaryan bring, so maybe that’s the way to go. However, with Mesut to definitely start, means him playing central midfielder which is unlikely (assuming a centre forward is chosen to play).

Perhaps Auba or Laca will be given some pine time – Auba would be the popular choice. If he is, he’ll be itching to come on for a cameo 30 minutes and score a couple.

Our home record against Palace is pretty good but nothing can be taken for granted at this stage of the season. Townsend always plays better against us and Zaha, Benteke, Wickham and Batshitcrazy are all useful on their day.

Roy Wagnerson usually likes his teams to play some football so Palace may not be the most adept at parking the bus which might produce a game of decent football at the Emirates today.

Getty Images

Ant and me will be suitably enthusiastic about the match by the time our train gets into St Pancras (bang on time, hopefully) soon after 12.30pm.

Heaven knows how we’ll entertain ourselves at Finsbury Park in the intervening period before setting off for the ground!

COYRRG

chas

p.s. Let’s hope Everton are up for the game against the red mancs

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Posted by Bongo

Napoli 0 Arsenal 1 – Player Ratings

April 19, 2019

The team selection looked ideal for an away game, compact in midfield and some heavy duty firepower up front to hopefully snatch that crucial away goal.

First Half

Napoli had a few half chances but many of their attacks were halted by the lino’s flag.

Rambo pinged a hammy and was replaced by Micki in preference to Mesut, presumably in the running about a lot stakes. Almost immediately Laca was fouled, a distance out from the Napoli goal. He stepped up, fooled the goalkeeper which side he was going and popped it over the wall into an empty net. 1-0 away from home and just what the doctor ordered.

Action Images via reuters

Napoli decided their best hope of getting back into the game was to blame the ref for their predicament in the hope of intimidating him into favouring them. During that first half he stood up superbly against their efforts.

Second Half

A couple of minutes after the restart Auba had the simplest of chances to make it 2-0 and take us completely out of sight. His 98% strike rate of early season has truly gone.

Napoli’s crossing, shooting and passing in the final third were so woeful during that second half that their best chance came when Nacho inadvertently diverted the ball towards his own net but Cech was right on the spot.

Highlight of the half was Big Sok telling Koulibaly that he was a cheating sod in Greek while making it look like he was counselling him on what a harsh world it is. Priceless.

Papa counsels Koulibaly

Conclusion

Excellent from The Arsenal.

Napoli’s first defeat at home to an English side and yet again we confounded expectations with a measured and controlled performance. Napoli were awful but let that not detract from a great team performance.

An away goal and a shut out – not many predicted that!

Valencia await in the semis.

Mertens thinks we weren’t very good. Ahem, we beat you both home and away without breaking sweat or conceding. I reckon you need to take a long hard look at yourself, pal.

Hopefully Rambo’s hammy doesn’t mean his Arsenal career is now over.

AFP- Getty Images

Ratings

Cech – great to see him kicking the ball rather than putting pressure on the defenders with that passing out from the back garbage – fine save from Monreal … 7

Maitland-Niles – a sound performance, covered well, attacked well, he continued his resurgent form since his ‘mare at Goodison … 8

Sokratis – a personal favourite – solid as a block of marble and with as much facial expression, though his counselling of Koulibaly was a joy to watch … 8

Koscielny – captain, my captain – class throughout … 8

Monreal – Nacho’s bandy legs covered a lot of turf and he played dependably … 8

Kolasinac – combative and useful in possession … 7

Torreira – terrier-like from first to last – was happy that there was a smaller player on the pitch … 8

Xhaka – did what was required before being subbed and his groin rested … 7

Ramsey – strived to create the goal which ironically came straight after he left the pitch … 7

Lacazette – looked fed up to go off – neither he nor Auba had held the ball up that well but it’s not their strength – ran his heart out … 7

Aubameyang – got better as the game went on – shame he missed the sitter … 7

Subs

Mkhitaryan – played reasonably well and nearly created that second goal with a timely challenge and then intuitive pass – so much better than Monday night (not that that was too difficult) … 6

Elneny – brought on to give Xhaka a rest – did what he’s good at … 6

Iwobi – presumably his ball retention skills were the reason for his appearance but couldn’t really hang on to it for long … 6

Managers

AP

Emery – superb – great team selection – outfoxed his opposing manager … 9

Wagnerotti – no answer to Arsenal’s superiority – bringing on a series of players whose final ball was just as poor as their predecessors was never going to work … 2

Ref – Pretty good game – not wanting to grab the limelight – Mike Dean take note, it’s not about you … 8

chas

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A Massive Night ahead in Naples

April 18, 2019

The prize of a semi-final spot (probably against Valencia) awaits the winner of tonight’s showdown in the Stadio San Paolo. Having won fairly comfortably last Thursday in North London, we must be favourites to progress so why is there such an air of trepidation about Gooners everywhere. Was it the fact that we should have won by more and put the tie to bed at home or maybe it’s because we just watched our team struggle against ten man Watford less than three days ago?

Napoli are odds on to win tonight’s game, but our odds to win the competition as a whole are a third of Napoli’s. What does this mean? Who knows – all that’s obvious is that an away goal should be priceless.

Harking back to 2008 and that away win in the San Siro, it was a completely different scenario on that occasion as the Emirates home leg had finished 0-0. No away goal for the opposition was more or less the only similarity. Fans’ expectations weren’t that high for the return in Milan but were superbly exceeded. Tonight is more of a ‘sh*t or bust’ situation – go all out for that away goal or play our best effort at Islington catennacio (haha, as if).

The more likely game plan will be somewhere in between as usual.

Paul Vaessen beats Juventus’ Dino Zoff with 2 minutes to go in the ECWC semi final 2nd leg in 1980

Team News

Papa is back available to play in Europe which gives the defence a huge boost as we miss his calming influence when he’s not prowling the box smiling. Kos and Papa in the centre and we start to look a whole lot more solid.

Other news is much harder to come by at the time of writing. There’s bound to be a certain caginess about revealing too much too soon. Aside from our long term absentees, only Denis Suarez has not travelled by the look of it.

Will Xhaka start after testing out his groin on Monday? A double pivot of Xhaka and Torreira would seem the most defensive and solid midfield selection, though if Rambo plays deeper we will have more chance of scoring that vital away goal.

Will we pack the midfield and use wing backs to add further stability or are wingbacks seen as a more of an attacking move since someone like Kolasinac usually plays well forward of the halfway line? Kola was given the night off on Monday which perhaps suggests he’ll play tonight and, for balance, that means a back three and Ainsley on the right.

Both strikers to start? Or will Unai use the left and right sided attacking options of Iwobi and Micki again? The latter option would appear more defensive but didn’t provide much in the way of either security or brightness on Monday (largely down to Henrikh’s poor performance).

Thierry Henry ties Javier Zanetti in knots before blasting past Toldo in Arsenal’s 5-1 demolition of Inter Milan in November 2003
Matthew Ashton/Empics Sport

Laca was also given the night off on Monday and didn’t look too cheesed off, so you would have thought he had been promised the no 1 striker’s spot against Napoli. Maybe Auba will start on the bench and be available to add extra bang  if required in the second half. If he plays, it’ll probably be wide left which leaves that flank vulnerable with the Wardrobe behind him. I like the idea of both Laca and Auba playing as twin strikers but we haven’t really seen it so far under Unai.

How do you think Unai will set up to maximise our chances of progression?

The comments section below is ready and waiting for your opinions and score predictions!

courtesy of Gooner Frog on twitter

chas

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Arsenal FC – Our away record against Napoli

April 17, 2019

We have only ever played one away game against Napoli – it was in Group F of the 2013/14 Champions League. We lost the game 0-2 after winning the home leg by the same score.

The San Paolo Stadium is a fearsome fortress and Napoli’s home record proves just how difficult this fixture will be for Arsenal.

Here is their home record for the last 9 seasons.

They possess a formidable home record in the league losing less than 2 games per season and they score an average of 3.29 goals per game while conceding only 1.39.

Their record against English sides at home is equally impressive with 4 wins, 2 draws and no defeats. In recent years, Liverpool managed a 0-0 while City, the chavs and us all lost. Perhaps it’s a record we can break just as in 2008 when we became the first English side to beat Milan in the San Siro.

Notice Carlo Wagnerotti in the background!

No matter how we look at it, we will find if very tough to get a result from this game but we are the Arsenal and it all depends on what version of our team shows up.

Two nil up after the first leg – what a strong position that is! An away goal will make a huge difference to the end result; that clean sheet at the Emirates may yet prove to be priceless. If we score, Napoli will need to score 4 to win the game. That thought will be in the backs of their minds constantly, gnawing away at their confidence to commit too many forward. What could possibly go wrong?

As a die hard gunner I never give up hope.

GunnerN5

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